A WINNERS Story: Keith Coleman

In today’s WINNERS story, we’ll learn about Keith Coleman. Keith started in the WINNERS program in 6th grade and fell in love with the game. His love for the game and hard work in the classroom have allowed him to transfer to DeMatha Catholic High School where he started his junior year this fall. Keith continues to play, and in his spare time he coaches with WINNERS! Keith was awarded our WINNER of the Year award in 2014, and is the perfect example of what WINNERS participants should aspire to be. Read Keith’s story in his words below.

I got interested in lacrosse after seeing the movie "Crooked Arrows." I thought lacrosse looked cool so I told my mom and she found out about WINNERS. I got started with WINNERS in the 6th Grade at age 11 and I have loved it ever since.

Through WINNERS I learned that hard work pays off. I started out learning the basics of passing, shooting and picking up ground balls. It was hard at first, but I stuck with it and worked at those skills every day. I learned about the discipline I needed to have to get better.

I would hit the wall every day and my stick became another part of my body because I carried it everywhere.

My hard work is paying off because I have been given the opportunity to play lacrosse for DeMatha Catholic High School. My transition to DeMatha has been a great one. I currently have a 4.0 GPA and have the opportunity to play lacrosse or train almost every day and I am a part of a great community that is aligned to who and what I want to be.

I continue to stay involved with WINNERS because WINNERS is a big part of who I am today. It connects me with a lot of other players and networks and it helps me make lacrosse more popular with other inner city students.

I also stay connected because I want to give back to my community and the WINNERSprogram by teaching the game I have grown to love to the next generation of WINNERS players.

Thank you Keith for your inspiring words – keep up the great work! Your WINNERS family will be cheering you on the whole way!